From: Interfaith Working Group Subject: IWG Arizona Star Boy Scouts/Church/State/Diversity Date: Sat, 18 Apr 1998 23:47:27 -0400 (EDT) The following went out on IWG letterhead listing 12 congregations and organizations and 56 clergy from 15 religious traditions. If you are in the general Philadelphia area and represent a congregation or religious organization or are clergy, let us know if you want to be added - all faiths are welcome. We will also be happy to help start similar organizations in other areas. April 17, 1998 Arizona Daily Star PO Box 26887 Tucson, AZ 85726 Dear Editors: Tedd Bell's April 13 letter about the Boy Scouts and the value of morality in America missed the mark. Religion and a sense of morality are of great importance in the life and history of this country, but we are a religiously free country; we are all free to believe as we see fit, and to develop our own understanding of moral behavior. The framers of the Constitution were a religiously diverse group unified in their desire for a just form of government. As the United States has grown we have become more just, and more religiously diverse. Today there are many people of faith with a strong sense of morals and ethics who see no difference between same-gender and mixed-gender relationships. A private religious organization certainly is entitled to its own religious beliefs, but that doesn't excuse them from criticism for taking a very specific religious stand, in contrast to the merely general religious nature of their oaths and public image. The Boy Scouts need to decide whether they are a private religious organization, or a general welfare organization that deserves the support of government agencies. Sincerely, Barbara Purdom Christopher Purdom Interfaith Working Group Coordinators -- Interfaith Working Group Religious organizations, congregations iwg@libertynet.org and clergy supporting gay rights, http://www.libertynet.org/iwg/ reproductive freedom, and the 215-235-3050 separation of church and state.